Container for polypeptide

Abstract

A closable and sealable, preferably thermoplastic plastic container (1) for storing, transporting and dispensing a powdery or granular polypeptide, said container comprising a circumferential wall (2) having an upper end and a lower end and at the lower end joining a closed bottom wall (7) and being at the upper end provided with a closable outlet member (16) having an outlet opening, the container having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface being an antistatic surface adapted to be in contact with the polypeptide.

Claims

1. A closed and sealed plastic container (1,31) in which a powdery or granular polypeptide is stored, said container comprising a circumferential wall (2,32) having an upper end and a lower end and at the lower end joining a closed bottom wall (7,37) and being at the upper end provided with a closable outlet member (16,23,46) having an outlet opening (19,26), the container having an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface being an antistatic surface adapted to be in contact with the polypeptide.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein the antistatic surface is provided by means of an antistatic coating or an antistatic film forming the inner surface of the container or an antistatic agent incorporated in the plastic material forming the inner surface of the container.

3. A container according to claim 2, wherein the surface resistivity of the antistatic inner surface is lower than 510.sup.12 ohm/cm.sup.2.

4. A container according to claim 1, wherein the inner surface has a coefficient of static friction between 45 and 55 and a coefficient of dynamic friction between 40 and 50 as measured according to ASTM D 1894.

5. A container according to claim 1, wherein the closable outlet member (16,23,26) comprises an outwardly extending collar or spout (18,24,48) closed by a cover (20,21,28).

6. A container according to claim 5, wherein the cover is a lid or cap (21,28) connected to the spout or collar by means of a snap fit or a screw connection or a bayonet connection.

7. A container according to claim 5, wherein the cover comprises a foil (20) peelably connected to the edge of the spout or collar so as to close the outlet opening of the spout or collar (18) or a pierceable foil non-peelably connected to the edge of the spout or collar so as to close the outlet opening thereof.

8. A container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a bag (1,31) formed from flexible heat-sealable plastic film and provided with a carrying handle (17,47).

9. A container according to claim 8, wherein the carrying handle is attached to the circumferential wall.

10. A container according to claim 8, wherein the plastic film comprises a first film layer, the first film layer being the inner film layer of the plastic film and providing the inner antistatic surface, an antistatic additive being incorporated in the first film layer, or an antistatic coating being applied to the first film layer, the plastic film optionally comprising additional layers arranged outwardly of the first film layer.

11. A container according to claim 10, wherein the inner film layer of the plastic film is a film layer of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the PET-film being the inner layer of the plastic film and providing the inner antistatic surface, an antistatic additive being incorporated in the PET-film, or an antistatic coating being applied to the PET film, the plastic film optionally comprising additional layers arranged outwardly of the PET-film.

12. A container according to claim 8, wherein the container is a stand-up bag and the circumferential wall (2,32) is formed by a front and a back panel (3,33;4,34) of plastic film being joined at longitudinal edges by longitudinal welding seams (5,35;6,36) and joined at upper and lower edges, and a bottom wall (7,37) is formed by an inwardly folded lower end panel (9,39) of plastic film extending between and joined to the lower edges of the front and back panels (3,33;4,34) by lower transverse welding seams (10,40;11,41).

13. A container according to claim 12, wherein the front and back panels (3,4) are joined at the upper end by a transverse welding seam (15), the outlet member (16) being positioned and leak-proof joined between the front and back walls (3,4), the transverse welding seam (15) extending downwardly divergent, i.e. sloping, from the outlet member towards the respective longitudinal edges.

14. A container according to claim 12, wherein a top wall (49) of the bag (31) is formed by an inwardly folded upper end panel (50) of plastic film extending between and joined to the upper edges of the front and back panels (33,34) by upper transverse welding seams (52,53), the outlet member (46) being positioned and leak-proof joined between the upper end panel (50) and the upper edge of the front panel (33), the transverse welding seam (53) between the front panel (33) and the upper end panel (50) extending downwardly diverging, i.e. sloping, from the outlet member towards the respective longitudinal edges.

15. A method of dispensing polypeptide stored in a container according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: a) leak-proof connecting the outlet member and a mating coupling member, the coupling member being a part of a receiving vessel to which the polypeptide is to be dispensed or a part of a tube connected to the vessel to which the polypeptide is to dispensed, b) placing the container so that the outlet opening of the outlet member of the container faces downwardly, and thereby allowing the polypeptide to flow by gravity from the container to the receiving vessel.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) Embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail in the following with regard to the accompanying figures. The figures show one way of implementing the present invention and are not to be construed as being limiting to other possible embodiments falling within the scope of the attached claim set.

(2) FIG. 1 is a view of a first embodiment of the container according to the invention formed as a stand-up bag, as seen towards the back thereof,

(3) FIG. 2 is a diagrammatical perspective view of the stand-up bag shown in FIG. 1,

(4) FIG. 3 is a view of a second embodiment of the container according to the invention formed as a stand-up bag, as seen towards the back thereof,

(5) FIG. 4 is a diagrammatical perspective view of the stand-up bag shown in FIG. 3,

(6) FIG. 5 is longitudinal sectional view of an upper portion of a first outlet member of a container according to the invention,

(7) FIG. 6 is longitudinal sectional view of an upper portion of a second outlet member of a container according to the invention,

(8) FIG. 7 is a diagrammatical perspective view of a third embodiment of a container according to the invention formed as a rigid box-shaped container,

(9) FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the container shown in FIG. 7,

(10) FIGS. 9-12 illustrate the steps in the method according to the invention for dispensing polypeptide stored in a container according to the invention to a vessel and additionally a system according to the invention comprising a container according to the invention and a coupling member to be connected to the outlet member of the container, and

(11) FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of a prior art flexible container as shown in FIG. 1 in WO 2011/031343 A1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(12) FIGS. 1 and 2 disclose a first embodiment of a container according to the invention in the form of a stand-up bag 1. The bag is formed from a flexible heat-sealable plastic film being a bi-axially oriented PET-film with an antistatic coating forming the inner surface of the bag 1. The bag comprises a circumferential wall 2 formed by a front panel 3 and a back panel 4 of the plastic film. The front panel 3 and the back panel 4 are joined at longitudinal edges by longitudinal welding seams 5,6. Additionally, the front and back panels are joined at upper and lower edges.

(13) A bottom wall 7 of the bag 1 is formed by an inwardly folded lower end panel 9 of plastic film extending between and joined to the lower edges of the front and back panels 3,4 by lower transverse welding seams 10,11. Additionally, the lower end panel is joined to the front and back panels 3,4 by angled corner welding seams extending between a lower transverse welding seam 10,11 and the adjacent longitudinal welding seam 5,6. Only the corner welding seams 12,13,14 are visible in FIGS. 1 and 2.

(14) The front and the back panels are directly joined at the upper end by an upper transverse welding seam 15 and an outlet member 16 is positioned and leak-proof joined between the front panel 3 and the back panel 4 by means of the upper transverse welding seam 15. The upper transverse welding seam 15 extends upwardly converging from the respective longitudinal welding seam 5,6 towards the outlet member 16 being centrally arranged, i.e. sloping downwardly from the outlet member 16 towards the respective longitudinal welding seam 5,6. As a result, when the bag 1 is turned upside down, the front and back panels 3,4 extend convergingly from the bottom wall 7 towards the upper transverse welding seam 15 as seen in a lateral view and the transverse upper welding seam slopes downwardly towards the outlet member 16 so that the upper portion of the bag assumes a funnel shape.

(15) Further and as seen from FIG. 1, the bag 1 is provided with a carrying handle 17 of plastic film, the handle 17 being arranged centrally on the back panel 4.

(16) Reference is now made to FIG. 5 disclosing in more details the outlet member 16 of the bag 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The outlet member comprises an outwardly extending spout 18 joined to the front and back panels by means of the upper transverse welding seam 15. The spout 18 is provided with an outlet opening 19 being at the upper end of the spout closed by a first cover in the form of a foil 20 peelably joined to the upper edge of the spout. The outlet member 16 further comprises a screw cap screwed onto an outer thread 22 on the outer end portion of the spout 18.

(17) FIG. 6 discloses an alternative outlet member 23 functioning as a valve. The alternative outlet member 23 comprises an outwardly extending collar 24 being at the outer end thereof provided with an end wall 25 closing the outlet opening 26 of the collar and being provided with a an excentrically arranged first opening 27. A rotatable cap 28 is arranged rotatably on the outer end portion of the collar 24 and is provided with an excentrically arranged second opening in the top wall 30 of the cap 28. The lower surface of the top wall is in leak-proof engagement with the upper surface of the end wall 25. The cap 28 is rotatable between open position (not shown) in which the second opening 29 is in register with, i.e. overlaps, the first opening 27 and a closed position in which the second opening 29 does not overlap the first opening 27.

(18) FIGS. 3 and 4 disclose a second embodiment of the container according to the invention in the form of a stand-up bag 31. The bag is formed from a flexible heat-sealable plastic film being a bi-axially oriented PET-film with a antistatic coating forming the inner surface of the bag 31. The bag 31 comprises a circumferential wall 32 formed a front panel 33 and a back panel 34 of the plastic film. The front panel 33 and the back panel 34 are joined at longitudinal edges by longitudinal welding seams 35,36. Additionally, the front and back panel 35,36 are joined at upper and lower edges.

(19) A bottom wall 37 of the bag 31 is formed by an inwardly folded lower end panel 39 of plastic film extending between and joined to the lower edges of the front and back panel 33,34 by lower transverse welding seams 40,41. Additionally, the lower end panel is joined to the front and back panels 33,34 by angled corner welding seams extending between a lower transverse welding seam 40,41 and the adjacent longitudinal welding seam 35,36. Only the corner welding seams 42,43,44 are visible in FIGS. 3 and 4.

(20) A top wall 49 of the bag 31 is formed by a inwardly folded upper end panel 50 of plastic film extending between and joined to the upper edges of the front and back panels 33,34 by upper transverse welding seams 52, 53. An outlet member 46 is positioned and leak-proof joined between the upper end panel 50 and the upper edge of the front panel 33 by means of the upper transverse welding seam 53. Additionally, the upper end panel 50 is joined to the front and the back panels 33,34 by means of upper angled corner seams 54,55,56 extending between an upper transverse welding seam 52,53 and an adjacent longitudinal welding seam 35,36.

(21) The upper transverse welding seam 45 extends upwardly converging from the respective longitudinal welding seam 35,36 towards the outlet member 46 being centrally arranged, i.e. sloping downwardly from the outlet member 46 towards the respective longitudinal welding seam 35,36. As a result, when the bag 31 is turned upside down, the transverse upper welding seam slopes downwardly towards the outlet member 46 so that the upper portion of the bag assumes a funnel shape. The outlet member comprises an outwardly extending spout 48 being at the upper end thereof provided with a screw cap 51. The outlet spout could alternatively be formed as described with reference to FIG. 4 or 5.

(22) Further and as seen from FIG. 3, the bag 31 is provided with a carrying handle 47 of plastic film, the handle 47 being arranged centrally on the back panel 44.

(23) The closed and sealed, preferably thermoplastic, container according to the invention in the form of bag storing a powdery or granular polypeptide may for example be shaped as a flexible container as shown in WO 2011/031343 A1, where the shown container according to the present invention is additionally provided with an inner surface being an antistatic surface adapted to be in contact with the polypeptide. Such a bag is shown in FIG. 13 corresponding to FIG. 1 of WO 2011/031343 A1.

(24) It should be understood that features described for a container according to the present invention (such as the antistatic inner surface, the different layers of the plastic film, the outlet member etc.), are also usable for the above-mentioned embodiment based on the flexible container according to WO 2011/031343 A1, said flexible container being additionally provided with an inner surface being an antistatic surface adapted to be in contact with polypeptide.

(25) Reference is now made to FIGS. 7 and 8 disclosing an embodiment of the container according to the present invention in the form of a rigid container 61 made from a thermoplastic polymer, e.g. HDPE or PP, and has an inner surface formed by an antistatic coating. The rigid container 61 comprises a circumferential wall 62 having an upper portion 63 and a lower portion 66. The upper portion 53 extends upwardly converging towards a top wall 64 extending convergingly towards the midpoint thereof where an outlet member 65 is arranged. The lower portion 66 of the circumferential wall 62 extends downwardly converging towards an essentially planar bottom wall 67.

(26) The outlet member 65 comprises a collar 68 extending outwardly from the top wall 64, the outlet opening thereof being leak-proof closed by a lid 69 being by means of a snap fit removably connected to the upper end portion of the collar. The outlet member could alternatively be formed as any of the previously described outlet members.

(27) The rigid container is formed from a first essentially bowl-shaped part and a second essentially bowl-shaped part. The first bowl-shaped part comprises a first end wall or bottom and a first side wall ending in a first upper rim. The second bowl-shaped part comprises a second end wall or bottom and a second side wall ending in a second upper rim. The first and the second upper rims have essentially the same sizes and shapes and are leak-proof mutually connected to form the rigid container. In this way, the top wall 64 and an upper portion 63 of the circumferential wall 62 of the container 61 are formed by the first bowl-shaped part and the bottom wall 67, and the lower portion 66 of the circumferential wall 62 of the container 61 is formed by the second bowl-shaped part.

(28) Alternatively, the container can be formed by a bowl-shaped lower part and a lid-shaped upper part leak-proof connected to the upper rim of the bowl-shaped part.

(29) Independent of the shapes or types of the two parts, the connection between the two parts can be a permanent connection provided by adhesion or welding of the two parts or a releasable connection that can be re-established and comprises a sealing means.

(30) Reference is now made to FIGS. 9-12 illustrating the steps of a method according to the invention for dispensing the polypeptide contained in the container to a receiving vessel. The method is illustrated by reference to the stand-up bag 31 described previously with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

(31) In an initial step, the screw cap 51 of the outlet member 48 is unscrewed from the spout 48. Should the spout be additionally closed by a peelable foil, the peelable foil is removed from the spout, see FIGS. 9 and 10. The outlet opening of the spout is now open.

(32) A mating coupling member 70 is now leak-proof connected to the spout 48 of the outlet member 46. In the example illustrated, the mating coupling member 70 is arranged at a first end of a tube, the second end of the tube being connected to an receiving vessel 72 to which the polypeptide in the bag 31 is to be delivered, see FIG. 11. The connection between the spout of the bag and the mating coupling can be a screw connection. As an alternative to connecting the spout of the bag to a mating coupling member 70 being a part of a tube, the mating coupling member could be a part of the receiving vessel and the spout of the bag 31 be connected directly to the receiving vessel via the mating coupling member thereof.

(33) As a next step, the bag 31 is arranged so that the outlet opening of the spout faces downwardly, e.g. by turning the bag upside down as shown in FIG. 11 and arrange it above the receiving vessel 72, thereby allowing the powdery or granular polypeptide in the bag 31 to flow by gravity from the bag to the receiving vessel 72.

(34) Finally, the bag is placed in an upright position, the mating coupling member 70 is removed from the spout of the bag and the screw cap is screwed unto the spout of the bag 31.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(35) 1 Bag 2 circumferential wall 3 front panel 4 back panel 5 longitudinal welding seam 6 longitudinal welding seam 7 bottom wall 9 lower panel 10 lower transverse welding seam 11 lower transverse welding seam 12 angled corner welding seam 13 angled corner welding seam 14 angled corner welding seam 15 upper transverse welding seam 16 outlet member 17 carrying handle 18 Spout 19 outlet opening 20 Foil 21 screw cap 22 outer thread 23 alternative outlet member 24 Collar 25 end wall 26 outlet opening 27 first opening 28 rotatable cap 29 second opening 30 top wall 31 Bag 32 circumferential wall 33 front panel 34 back panel 35 longitudinal welding seam 36 longitudinal welding seam 37 bottom wall 39 lower panel 40 lower transverse welding seam 41 lower transverse welding seam 42 angled corner welding seam 43 angled corner welding seam 44 angled corner welding seam 46 outlet member 47 carrying handle 48 Spout 49 top wall 50 upper end panel 51 screw cap 52 upper transverse welding seam 53 upper transverse welding seam 54 upper angled corner welding seam 55 upper angled corner welding seam 56 upper angled corner welding seam 61 rigid container 62 circumferential wall 63 upper portion 64 top wall 65 outlet member 66 lower portion 67 Bottom 68 Collar 69 Lid 70 mating coupling member 71 Tube 72 receiving vessel